"We as a city, we're kind of landlocked, and we have to look at being a little more dense in areas where it makes sense." Zeeland Mayor Rick Van Dorp III said that to FOX 17 at the end of September, talking about one vacant corner. The idea applies well beyond that corner. This fall, almost every change downtown fits the same pattern. Zeeland is growing on land it already has: new floors on old lots, a restaurant rebuilt inside its own walls, a factory campus updated in place, and a street dug up and put back with heated sidewalks.
The changes are easiest to follow address by address, moving east along Main Avenue.
17 E. Main: a new building with a full dining room
The westernmost change is already open. El Rancho, a family-owned Mexican restaurant, opened in mid-August on the ground floor of the mixed-use building at 17 E. Main. The Zeeland Record reported on September 3 that the 132-seat restaurant had opened about two weeks before its manager, Jorge Alberto, spoke to the paper. Mayor Van Dorp calls it the Midwest building and listed it among the signs of momentum downtown.
The building's design shows how Zeeland is filling in its center. The restaurant is on the main level and the building has other uses above it, so one lot does several jobs. El Rancho's other locations are in the city of Holland, Holland Township, Greenville and Ludington. Zeeland's is the one set inside a new downtown building.
Here are the hours the Zeeland Record printed:
- Monday through Thursday: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
- Friday and Saturday: 11 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.
- Sunday: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
As of early September, El Rancho was still waiting for the Michigan Liquor Control Commission to approve its licenses. City Council had recommended approval back in January. "It could be two weeks, it could be a month," Alberto said at the time. Licensing can move quickly, so call ahead if a margarita is part of the plan.
134 and 136 E. Main: Frank's, restoring in place
A little farther east, Frank's Restaurant shows the same idea from the other side. The new buildings add space. Frank's is restoring a building it has filled for more than a century.
A fire broke out at 134 E. Main on April 18. It damaged the basement and forced a partial closure. Owner Teresa Vander Zwaag told FOX 17 the cause is undetermined, either grease or electrical, and that "the fire started and ended in the basement." MLive's April report said the fire chief thought it appeared to start in the grill area. Either way, the fire destroyed the commercial hood system. Without a hood, the kitchen can't make burgers or fried food.
On May 30, the owners posted that full operation would take "a while." By late September, the restaurant had its building permit from the city. "So on Monday, we are going to turn a corner from a demolition to a restoration," Vander Zwaag told FOX 17.
Until then, Frank's East is open next door at 136 E. Main with what Vander Zwaag called "very limited hours, very limited menu." The restaurant posts its current weekly hours on the Frank's website. No firm reopening date has been announced. "Give us a year to get fully back up and running, but chances are it'll be well before then, so we'll keep you posted," she said.
Frank's has stayed part of downtown life even with its kitchen down. For Pumpkinfest's opening "Dinner on Us" on October 1 at Main and Church, Frank's was listed as a collaborator with Zeeland Festivals and Tyson Foods.
303 E. Main: four floors on a former auto lot
The corner that started the mayor's comment is the old Main Street Auto property at 303 E. Main. On September 25, the Holland Sentinel reported that Zeeland City Council had chosen GL Rentals to turn the site into a four-floor, mixed-use building.
The developer is local in a very literal way. Dave Wilson owns GL Rentals and also owns Generational Wealth, which sits kitty-corner from the site. "So you know he's going to do a good job because he has to stare at it as well," Van Dorp joked.
Several details are not public yet: the unit count, the commercial tenant, and the start and finish dates. For now, it is a selected developer and a rendering. The mayor also said the Koele Godfrey Investments building across the street is "almost done." That puts two new buildings near the east end of downtown and a third, El Rancho's, at the west end.
Mead Johnson: a century-old campus, rebuilt on its own footprint
Downtown's biggest neighbor follows the same pattern. Mead Johnson has been headquartered in Zeeland for more than 100 years and employs about 400 to 500 local workers, according to the city. It is modernizing its E. Main Avenue campus instead of moving elsewhere. To make room, six properties were rezoned, and the company asked the city to vacate part of N. Division Street north of E. Main.
The visible work this fall is site work. In its September 8 update, the city said tree removal, excavation and parking-area preparation were expected to begin in September under a land use permit. Construction of the new buildings has not yet been authorized. It can't start until the remaining conditions of the Planning Commission's site plan approval are met. Earth-moving on E. Main this fall is parking prep. New buildings are not going up yet.
Church Street: the street itself, rebuilt with heat underneath
The landlocked logic reaches the pavement too. The city began reconstructing Church Street from Washington Avenue to Lincoln in January. The project rebuilds the street's surface and adds snowmelt sidewalks along the way.
The final stretch is under way now. The city's posted schedule says every date depends on the weather:
- Central to Main: asphalt base course the week of September 28, sidewalk and snowmelt installation through mid-October, final restoration through October.
- Main and Church intersection: closed to all traffic September 23 and 24, now done.
- Main to Washington: under construction October 5 to mid-November.
- Washington Avenue: closed the week of October 5, which is this week.
- Lincoln, Central, Centennial, Cherry and Washington intersections: closures at various points during the project.
The city's project presentation lists snowmelt sidewalks and a new Main Avenue crosswalk as part of the Main-to-Washington work. The city hasn't posted a block-by-block detour map or a list of which parking lots stay open. For questions about access, the project team answers at [email protected] or 616.772.0870, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. After hours, the emergency line is 616.772.2001.
Two dates when the rebuilt downtown fills up
Pumpkinfest already ran October 1 through 3 along Main Avenue, with free events and the Saturday "Pumpkinfest Gone Country" parade. Two more dates are coming, and both bring people to the blocks described above.
Trick or Treat on Main Street, Friday, October 30. Participating downtown businesses hand out treats from 3 to 5 p.m. Citywide trick-or-treating at homes follows from 5 to 7 p.m. The Main-to-Washington stretch of Church Street is scheduled to stay under construction until mid-November. If that schedule holds, the work will still be going on the night costumes fill Main, so leave extra time if you usually park near Church.
Small Business Saturday, November 28. The city lists 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and says downtown merchants will offer sales and promotions. If the weather cooperates, Church Street's last block should be finished by then. You may also get a first walk over the new crosswalk on Main and the snowmelt sidewalks it connects to.
Someone shopping downtown on November 28 will pass El Rancho's dining room at 17 E. Main and Frank's restoration at 134. Farther east are the Koele Godfrey building and the empty lot at 303 that now has a developer. Every one of them is new work on land downtown already had.
If all this downtown change has you wondering what it means for your own corner of Zeeland, whether you're thinking about selling, buying closer to Main or just staying put, Dykstra Real Estate is happy to talk it through. Krissy and Sam watch these Zeeland projects as closely as you do and can explain the trade-offs plainly, on your schedule. Contact Us anytime.
